2 arrested for jewellery store robbery

City crime branch Unit 3 on Wednesday arrested two men, one a history-sheeter, for allegedly robbing a jewellery store in Agripada of gold ornaments worth ₹1.90 crore at gunpoint, on December 29

MUMBAI: City crime branch Unit 3 on Wednesday arrested two men, one a history-sheeter, for allegedly robbing a jewellery store in Agripada of gold ornaments worth ₹1.90 crore at gunpoint, on December 29.

Police arrested the main accused, Vinod Lakhan Pal, 28, from Madhya Pradesh and his accomplice, Santosh Lalata Prasad Bulakia, 26, from Uttar Pradesh. Both are being brought to the city. (HT)

Police arrested the main accused, Vinod Lakhan Pal, 28, from Madhya Pradesh and his accomplice, Santosh Lalata Prasad Bulakia, 26, from Uttar Pradesh. Both are being brought to the city.

“A crime branch team conducted a late-night raid at a farm in Simarabhata village of Niwari district in Madhya Pradesh and nabbed Pal,” said deputy commissioner of police Datta Nalawade of crime branch. “Pal is a notorious criminal and have multiple robbery cases registered against them in Uttar Pradesh.”

His accomplice, Bulakia, is a resident of Jhansi. Police said he does not have any past criminal record.

According to police, the duo had come to Mumbai a day before the heist with the sole intention of robbing a jewellery store. They first targetted two stores in Navi Mumbai but had to abort the plan as the showrooms were filled with shoppers.

They then conducted a recce for an hour and zeroed in on Rishad Jewellers as they calculated that they could easily flee from the store after robbery. They entered the store as customers on the afternoon of December 29 ostensibly to buy gold rings, and once inside, they forced down the shutters, after threatening the owners and the employees at gunpoint, said a police officer.

They finally decamped with ornaments worth ₹1.90 crore from the store, located around 50 metres from the Arthur Road Jail, after tying up the store owner, Bhawarlal Dharamchand Jain, 50, and his employees, with ropes.

Thereafter, the duo boarded a taxi and then an auto till they reached Bhiwandi bypass. From here, they travelled by a shared taxi to Nashik Dwarka Circle, and from there, they hired a private vehicle to Bhusawal railway station, where they boarded a Bhopal-bound train.

After an FIR was registered at the Agripada police station, Unit 3 of the crime branch launched a parallel investigation in the case. A crime branch official said five teams were formed to probe the case and the two accused were traced based on footage of CCTV cameras installed inside and outside the store. The teams examined around 100-150 CCTV cameras on the Mumbai-Bhiwandi-Nashik-Bhusawal routes and traced Pal to a relative’s house in a remote area in his native place, Simarabhata, in Madhya Pradesh. “The Crime Branch team finally nabbed Pal with their tireless efforts,” said DCP Nalawade of the crime branch.